


Love They Say

by Lurkz, sithwitch13



Category: Babylon 5, Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-02 07:18:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8657464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lurkz/pseuds/Lurkz, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sithwitch13/pseuds/sithwitch13
Summary: It was the end of the year 9:41 Dragon, and the war was upon us. The Breach in the sky opened and threatened all of Thedas. And closer to home, our own people fought each other: Templars and Mages, Tevinters and Qunari, elves and humans. We built the Babylon outpost as our last, best hope for peace. It failed. But it may still become a place of victory.
 Grey Warden and second in command Susan Ivanova can only conclude she did something to anger the gods when former Circle mage Talia Winters arrives at Babylon outpost, but finds they have more in common than she expected.





	1. Chapter 1

“All I’m saying is that I don’t trust her,” Susan told Garibaldi as they walked the battlements together. 

Garibaldi rolled his eyes. _Of course she didn’t._ Out loud he said, “Ivanova--Susan--you don’t even know her.”

“She’s Circle, Michael,” Susan responded, as if that should explain everything.

“There are no more Circles, technically,” Garibaldi pointed out. “Not for what, a year now?”

“Doesn’t matter,” the Captain said, squaring her jaw. “Once a Circle mage, always a Circle mage.”

“Sure,” he replied, rolling his eyes again when she glanced away from him. “But… can’t you just give her a chance?”

Susan didn’t respond but did shoot him a dirty look.

Garibaldi sighed, redirecting his gaze to the fort’s approach. The new mage had arrived at the Babylon outpost days ago and Susan had refused to be in the same room as her ever since. To Garibaldi’s knowledge--and as chief of security of the Babylon outpost, he knew a lot--Susan hadn’t even laid eyes on the poor woman, but whenever someone tried to convince Susan to give the mage a chance, Susan had refused. Commander Sheridan had even tried to trick Susan into eating dinner with the mage and as soon as Susan had realized what was happening, she’d vanished for hours. Garibaldi still wasn’t sure how she’d pulled it off or where she’d gone. 

For several minutes the two paced the battlements in silence before Susan suddenly burst out, “Why do we even need a Circle liaison in the first place?!”

“She’s not Circle.” Garibaldi gave a long suffering sigh; he had made that statement more times than he could count in recent days. “And because we need someone to provide a link to mages passing through to convince them to join the Inquisitor and provide some insight into why mages may or may not agree with the Inquisitor’s decisions. We are a diplomatic mission, remember?”

He received a noncommittal grunt for his efforts. As highly competent as Susan was, the elf could be extraordinarily frustrating sometimes. Ordinarily he approved of her pragmatic approach to life, and her almost dwarf-like sensibility.

And then, there were times like now, when she was no more moveable than the Stone itself. “That doesn’t mean I have to like her.”

Garibaldi groaned. “Fine. You don’t have to like her. But you can’t kill her.”

“Fine. Just so we’re clear on that.”

He would have thrown his hands up in the air if it wouldn’t have looked completely undignified. As it was, he gave her a level stare--or as close to one as he could get given the height difference between an average-sized dwarf and a fairly tall elf. “You’re a real pain in the ass sometimes, Captain.”

That earned a small smile out of her. “I try, Chief.” The second in command of the Babylon outpost adjusted her armor. The steel of her breastplate shone in the afternoon sun, and Garibaldi had the feeling that she was doing her best to be as intimidating as possible despite her assurances. Not that she had to try hard--over the time they’d been serving together in the Inquisition, Captain Susan Ivanova had proven formidable in both command and on the field.

Soon, they reached the stairs that would lead them down to Commander Sheridan’s office. They passed a few guardsmen--human, mostly, even this close to Orzammar--before Garibaldi knocked on the heavy wooden door. Susan exhaled noisily.

“Remember: _no killing the mage_ ,” Garibaldi muttered to her. She glared back at him, but didn’t answer.

“Come in,” the Commander called. Susan pushed the door open, squaring her shoulders and walking in. Garibaldi trailed in behind her, deciding that if worse came to worse he could dive back out the door if Susan tried to stab the new mage.

“Captain Ivanova, Captain Garibaldi,” greeted Commander Sheridan, standing. Another surface dwarf, he kept his beard close-cropped where Garibaldi shaved his down to stubble for convenience’s sake. Even here, safe within the comfort of the fortress that comprised the bulk of the Babylon outpost, Sheridan, like Ivanova, was in full armor though his gloves and helm rested on the corner of his desk. Sheridan gave the newcomers a warm grin and waved to the chairs in front of his desk. “Mage Winters will be here momentarily.”

Susan glowered but took a seat.

Sheridan sighed. “Susan, it’s not that bad.”

“Yes, it is.”

Garibaldi and Sheridan exchanged exasperated looks.

Apparently having taken no notice of the exchanged looks, Susan continued, “I just don’t see why I have to meet her. I am perfectly capable of doing my job without some mage and she is, presumably, capable of doing hers without me around!”

“Captain,” Sheridan said, his voice brooking no argument. “You are here as a member of the Inquisition welcoming a valuable asset who can add her intelligence and abilities to ours. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Susan said, still glaring.

The Commander frowned. “And try not to glare at her.”

Susan arched an eyebrow though her expression eased into one of annoyed disdain rather than pure fury.

“Ivanova…” Sheridan’s tone clearly indicated his rising annoyance with his second in command.

“Dammit, John--!”

Garibaldi shifted uncomfortably. He knew the Commander and Captain had a long history but she rarely used his first name in public unless she was really upset.

Further words from either party were cut off by a brief knock on the door. Sheridan gave Susan a quelling look before raising his voice slightly. “Come in.”

The door edged open. Sheridan and Garibaldi immediately stood, facing the newcomer. Ivanova followed suit after a moment, visibly bracing herself before turning to face the mage.

Mage Talia Winters stepped through the door, a warm smile on her lips. “Good afternoon, Commander, Captains.”

“Mage Winters, it’s good to see you again. I hope you’ve settled in well?” Sheridan asked, returning her smile.

“Call me Talia, please, Commander. And yes, the quarters are more than satisfactory. Thank you for your help with those.”

“Anytime, Mage Winters--Talia.”

Susan remained silent, arms crossed, studying the mage. A human, blue-eyed and with shoulder-length blonde hair, close to the elf’s height. Susan’s face had been grimly neutral just before the mage entered the room, but for a moment Garibaldi thought he saw something flicker there. Then the moment was gone, and the dour expression was back.

Talia’s smile faltered slightly and she looked between the Captain and Commander, clearly confused and more than a little curious.

Sheridan sighed quietly but his voice was calm and authoritative as he said, “Mage Winters, I’d like to introduce you to my second in command, Captain Susan Ivanova. Captain Ivanova has been with the Inquisition from the beginning, a new Warden from Ferelden.”

Talia’s eyes lit up. “It’s a pleasure to meet you at last, Captain. A Ferelden Warden? Then you must know the Hero of Ferelden!”

Susan shot an annoyed look at Sheridan who smiled back, clearly unrepentant. “Yes, I’ve met her. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m in the middle of fifteen things, all of them annoying. Good day.” Susan gave the Commander a curt nod and glare before neatly sidestepping the confused mage and stalking out of the office.

“Sorry about that. Captain Ivanova is very busy.” Garibaldi offered the mage a rakish grin, and his hand. “Captain Michael Garibaldi.”

“Nice to meet you,” Talia said, taking his hand in hers and shaking it. She had a surprisingly strong grip for both a human and a mage. He raised an eyebrow at her.

The woman gave him a small, satisfied smile in return. “No mage should rely solely on magic,” she answered simply.

“A very practical viewpoint,” Sheridan said. “Mage Winters, Captain Garibaldi is responsible for security in the Babylon outpost. If you have any concerns, whether for your own safety or how to improve anything, he’s who you should speak with.”

“Oh, so you’re the one everyone calls the Chief.” Talia’s eyes widened with understanding.

“That’s me. I’m not much of a stickler for rank, so Chief suits me fine.”

“We only call him ‘captain’ at formal events like these and when he’s in trouble,” added Sheridan with just a hint of a smile.

“Which is often,” Garibaldi agreed. “My office is on the ground floor of the main fortress. I can walk you there, so you know where it is?”

“Thank you for the offer, but I really should be on my way to the library at the moment. I’m supposed to meet with the librarian?”

“Ah, Lyta,” said Sheridan, nodding. “She’s a good dwarf. You may not have to worry about being late; she and Brother Lennier are likely still arguing about how best to organize the history section.”

“Still,” Talia said. “I hate to make a bad first impression.” Her smile dimming, she looked toward the door. “Speaking of which…”

“Ah, that’s just Susan,” said Garibaldi. “Don’t let it bother you.”

“In that case, I’ll take my leave.” Talia gave them each a nod and let herself out of the office. Garibaldi counted silently, making it to six before Sheridan leaned over his desk and hissed, “Find Captain Ivanova and tell her to meet me in my office first thing after lunch. No excuses.”

“Sure thing.” Garibaldi offered Sheridan a lazy salute and let himself out, pausing just outside of the office. Susan was pissy and avoiding everyone, which meant… right. The tower. It was always the tower.

Some time and a very exhausting hike up the stairs later, and Garibaldi opened the trap door that led to the top of the tallest tower in the outpost. If she wasn’t up here… But she was. Thankfully. Because that was a hell of a climb.

“You know, most people look over paperwork in enclosed rooms.”

“Most people don’t climb all the way up here to bother me,” Susan said, not looking up from whatever correspondence she was currently reading.

“Yeah, well. Sheridan wants to see you first thing after lunch. Which means you may want to start climbing now, given how long it took me to get up here.”

At that, Susan did glance over at where he was still standing by the door. “I’m busy.”

“Think it has something to do with you and Mage Winters,” Garibaldi said, as if she hadn’t spoken.

Susan… did something. Not flinched, but there was some sort of response. Garibaldi, being Garibaldi, had to poke. “You know, I think he’s worried you might try and attack her.”

“I’m not going to attack her,” Susan said, gritting her teeth visibly.

“Might want to tell him that. Maybe her, too. Poor little mage looked like you’d kicked her puppy after you left. Wanted to know if she’d made a bad first impression on you. I don’t think you stayed long enough to get a first impression, but--”

“She made a perfectly fine first impression.”

“Which is why you left.”

Garibaldi could have sworn that he saw her eye twitch. “I had things to do.”

He snorted. “Yeah. You had to go all the way back to your office to grab paperwork that’s been sitting there for a week and then come all the way back up here to do it. Come on, Susan, what’s up? I know you don’t like mages, but--”

“It’s not that,” Susan snapped. “It’s--” She shut her mouth, visibly frustrated.

“It’s… what?” Garibaldi cocked his head at her with a small smirk.

“She’s not what I expected,” Susan finally said.

“Not what--Susan, you barely said two words to her. What were you--?” As Susan continued to stare out at the outpost grounds grimly, Garibaldi’s eyes widened in comprehension. “Wait. You think she’s cute.”

“That’s not what I’m saying. That’s what you’re saying.”

“Me? I’m in a perfectly good relationship. I don’t have to go looking for cute these days. You, though?” He crossed his arms, considering. “You’ve been alone the entire time I’ve known you. There’s no shame in looking.”

“She’s a _mage_. And a human,” Susan threw in, as an afterthought.

“So? Delenn’s a human, and she and Sheridan seem to have a good thing.”

“Humans don’t throw dwarves into alienages.”

“She was in a Circle tower, I doubt she was personally responsible for throwing any elves into any alienages. She doesn’t look that old.”

“Which brings me back to my first issue: she’s a mage.”

Garibaldi sighed, loudly and theatrically. “Susan. You think she’s cute. She thinks she insulted you somehow. Why not go talk to her? Maybe you’ll find something completely new to dislike and that’ll be the end of that and we can all go back to doing our jobs. Speaking of which, Sheridan still wants to yell at you.”

Susan grunted, but started gathering her papers. “Maybe.”

“That’s all I needed to hear. Just promise me that you’ll find Mage Winters and try to have a civil conversation with her? Remember: new topics to hate her on that aren’t the Circle. That’s all I’m asking.”

“And you’ll leave me alone?”

“I promise.” He held the trap door open while Susan climbed through it and followed her back down.

So Susan thought Talia was attractive. At least this would keep him entertained, if nothing else.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay! A huge thanks from both of us for the kudos and comments!

Susan stalked through the hallway some days later, Garibaldi’s instructions still on her mind. Talk to the mage. Find something to hate that  _ wasn’t _ the Circle. Shut Garibaldi up. It seemed simple enough.

Except… except she had spent the last hour hunting down the mage and not finding her. How hard could it be to find one single mage--one of only a handful currently in residence--in a fortress of this size? Apparently, extremely. Winters wasn’t in the library where Susan would have expected a mage to be, nor was she in the infirmary where magic could be actually useful. Nor was she in any of the half-dozen other places that seemed likely.

Exasperated, Susan began to look in the unlikely places. And there she found Talia Winters: in the stables, petting a horse. The sight was unlikely enough that Susan’s planned speech flew right out of her mind. “Um.”

Talia looked up, startled and slightly embarrassed to Susan’s eye. “Hello? Am I needed somewhere?”

“Mage Winters. Um. No. No, you’re--well. Yes. That is--” Susan gritted her teeth in frustration with herself. “I wished to apologize for the abruptness of our initial meeting and inquire if you would like a second opportunity to--”  _ No. Too formal.  _ When was she ever that formal? “What I mean is, I know I was busy before, but I’m not now, and… Are you busy? What are you doing?”

“Visiting Nuggins,” Talia said, patting the horse’s nose. The horse, a medium-sized bay, lipped at the mage’s hand.

“Nuggins?” Susan blinked rapidly. “Who the hell names a horse ‘Nuggins?’”

“Me, actually,” Talia said. “She was nearly Philiam, but Nuggins is gender-neutral. And I like the song.”

“They allow tavern songs in the Circle?”

“Well, they don’t disallow them. And Templars go drinking on their days off.” Talia smiled slightly, leaning against the horse’s stall. “In answer to your question, Captain, I’m not terribly busy right now. Although Nuggins will be sad that my visit was cut short, I’m sure.”

Susan opened her mouth, closed it, and then tried again. “I’m sorry if I’m insulting your horse--”

Talia laughed. Her laugh, like the rest of her, was prettier than Susan had initially expected. “I’m kidding, Captain. I don’t have anywhere to be for some time today. It seems nobody is quite sure what to do with a mage in the middle of a mage rebellion.”

Despite her former good humor, the woman seemed to deflate slightly. “It can’t be that bad,” Susan said awkwardly. “We’re supposed to be working together.”

“And yet, the Circles still rebelled,” Talia said sadly. She shook her head. “But that’s politics. You wanted to… do what, exactly? You didn’t say.”

“Oh. I… wanted a redo, actually. Of our first meeting. You didn’t catch me on my best day.”

“These days, are any days our best?” Talia looked at her then, and Susan couldn’t help noticing how very blue the human’s eyes were.

“Right,” Susan said, looking down. “Well, we seem to have spoken more than two words, so… You’ve had a tour of the fortress?” She shook her head. “You’ve been here days, of course you have.”

“Um, yes, Captain Garibaldi was kind enough to give me one.”

Susan nodded slightly, glancing away. “Right, of course. Well… sorry to bother you, Mage Winters.” Susan turned to go, mentally berating herself.  _ Brilliant plan, Garibaldi. I swear I’m going to _ \-- Her inner dialogue cutoff at the mage’s voice.

“Captain Ivanova?”

Susan turned, raising one eyebrow in question.

“I… um... “ The mage seemed flustered suddenly. “Would you… would you be willing to show me some of the surrounding area? No one else seems to think it’s safe to do so.”

Susan frowned, contemplating. The others were right; the surrounding area wasn’t exactly the safest given the ongoing wars. But then, she did need to do a patrol of the area soon anyway. It wasn’t really what she had been expecting from this conversation but this, at least, was something she was familiar with. Slowly she said, “I suppose it would be good for you to be familiar with the area. I will be leaving on a patrol after lunch. Be ready. If you’re not sure what you need, Lieutenant Corwin can show you and help you get… Nuggins… ready.” She thought she saw a flicker of disappointment in the human’s expression but dismissed it as wishful thinking. Unsure what else to say, Susan gave a brief nod before hurrying away.

  
* * *  


Susan strode through the inner gate into the outer bailey shortly after midday, helmet tucked under one arm and tugging her gloves on.  As she approached the small group waiting for her, she discreetly studied the mage waiting a few feet away from the soldiers.  Winters looked uncomfortable, holding on to her horse’s bridle with one hand and glancing around regularly, feet shifting.  Susan ran a quick glance over the horse…  _ Nuggins _ … and nodded to herself.  Corwin had clearly done his job well and the mage appeared properly outfitted for the patrol, at least insofar as she had anything to outfit.

Susan met Talia’s glance briefly as she approached, giving the mage a quick nod of acknowledgement before turning her gaze on the troops.  A swift order from one and they all fell into a double rank, saluting briefly.  Susan ran a practiced eye over the group.  A dozen in all, she noted approvingly that each person’s armor was properly cared for and the horses outfitted appropriately.

She returned the salute before turning to take her own horse’s reins from a nearby squire.  The large black stallion snorted and stamped the ground as she took the bridle, earning a quick grin and pat on the nose from her.  Swinging into the saddle she was pleased to see her troops all mounted and waiting.  All except for the mage who just looked bewildered.

Sighing, Susan nudged her horse over and looked down.  Talia looked up at her, bright blue eyes questioning and for a moment Susan couldn’t talk.  After too long a pause, she cleared her throat and managed to say, “Mount up, Mage Winters, it’s a long walk on foot.”

The mage smiled brightly and did as requested.  Susan looked away, uncomfortably aware of just how much more attractive the other woman was when she smiled.

Noticing her troops looking at her curiously, Susan scowled at them.  “Mage Winters will be accompanying us to learn the layout of the surrounding area.  Let’s go.”  She glanced over at Talia who was watching her closely.  Scowl still in place, Susan said, “Stay with me.  If you fall behind, I’m not stopping.”

Talia’s expression grew stern, though Susan thought it looked like the mage was unfamiliar with such an expression and she nodded firmly.  “I won’t let you down, Captain.”

Susan sighed and nodded, scowl falling away.  “Just… keep up.”  Ignoring the curious looks on the troops’ faces, Susan settled her helm on her head and nudged the stallion into a trot, heading for the outer gate which had been opened for their exit. She heard the rest of the group move in behind her and a quick glance to the side showed the mage falling in on her left side.

Once outside the fort she led the group in a wide arc to the east, raising an arm and signaling her troops to fan out into their standard patrol pattern.  She didn’t speak to Talia though.  Honestly, she had no idea what to say.  What, exactly, does one talk to a Circle mage about anyway?  The weather?  No, that was stupid even among acquaintances.  The war?  Oh yeah, that would go over really well.  Scowling she mentally cursed at herself for agreeing to this and Garibaldi for… well, she wasn’t really sure but she was positive this was all his fault.

“This is a lovely view,” Talia said, nudging her horse nearer to Susan. “It looks like you can see almost the entire valley below the fort from here.”

“Yes,” Susan said. “It makes an excellent defensive point in case of a frontal assault.”

Talia raised her eyebrows. “Is that how you see it, Captain? Don’t tell me that the beauty of these lands is lost on you. So much open green space, the mountains on one side and the sea on the other?”

Susan frowned and looked around at the scenery. She supposed it was pretty enough but she couldn’t really separate the tactical benefits from the landscape--not when she had been spending the last several months riding out almost daily to ensure that the land surrounding the Babylon outpost was as well-protected as she could make it. Not sure what to say, Susan gave a noncommittal grunt in response.

Beside her, Talia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I can’t believe you could take something this amazing for granted.”

“I’m not taking it for granted,” Susan snapped defensively. “It’s my job to notice everything about this place. Those flat plains? They don’t provide Venatori or rogue Templars with defenses to hide behind. The mountains and sea? They create a barrier that slow our enemies down and buy us time to prepare. The road you arrived on has to be maintained and guarded so that supplies can get through easily and safely. So forgive me if I don’t have time to stand around picking flowers.”

A small part of Susan regretted her sharp words--but just a small part. She was proud of her work. To have this mage--attractive as she was--suggest that Susan took anything for granted was galling. How  _ dare _ she?

The horses had slowed to a halt, and Talia dropped her gaze first. “My apologies, Captain,” she said. “I didn’t mean to suggest that you shirk your duties. I was just very impressed. It’s very different than what I’m used to.”

Susan glanced over and raised an eyebrow, not that Talia would be able to see the skeptical expression with Susan’s helm in the way. After a moment she huffed out something between a scoff and a sigh. “It’s uh… it’s fine.” She looked away again, studying the terrain and finally muttered, “I suppose it’s pretty.” She ignored the sudden ( _ Beautiful--shut up, brain _ ) smile on Talia’s face and urged her stallion back into a trot before they fell too far behind the rest of the party. After a pause, she asked, “What are you used to?”

Talia smiled softly. “Not this.”

Susan scoffed. “Obviously, from how you were speaking.”

“The Jainen Circle is in the Waking Sea bannorn of Ferelden. Have you ever been there?”

Susan shook her head. “Never had any cause.”

“Nor should you. There’s not much there, unless you like fishing. The bannorn consists of a few islands with the Circle tower at the northmost point of land. The ground was rocky and there weren’t much in the way of trees, but we were allowed outside, within reason.” She smiled slightly. “It was beautiful in a sparse sort of way. But this?” She took a deep breath. “This is amazing.”

After a moment, Susan said, “I grew up in Denerim. I didn’t realize how bad the city smelled until I got away from it and came back.”

Talia’s laugh was beautiful, just like the rest of her. “So, Captain? Is there any tactical advantage in a fortress that doesn’t smell of dog and the, um… leavings of people?”

  
“Shit?” Susan said, not bothering to hide her smile at the prim mage’s sudden reddening. “I don’t know. I’ll tell you when I find out.” She glanced around, finding her men had moved a decent distance ahead while they’d been dawdling. “Come on. You said you wanted to learn the lay of the land, yes?” Susan nudged her horse back into motion, settling into the rhythm of the patrol and wondering if the mage would continue trying to converse with her the whole time. It didn’t seem like such a tiresome idea now.

**Author's Note:**

> We have tumblrs! [Sithwitch13](http://sithwitch13.tumblr.com/) and [Lurkz](http://lurkz.tumblr.com/).
> 
> ALSO, A NOTE ON RANKS:
> 
> On Babylon 5, Sheridan is a Captain and Ivanova is a Commander. However, we're going by the [ranks used](http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Inquisition) in Dragon Age: Inquisition, which have Captain as being lower than Commander. We recognize that this is confusing and just one of the many problems/challenges inherent in smashing completely disparate fandoms together. Likewise, there's not a perfect 1:1 for B5 races to Dragon Age races. We'll be addressing further issues in comments or as they come up in the story. Thanks!


End file.
